Press Releases

Collaborative Project with City of Albany, CA and Coalition Members Supports Implementation of Food Scrap Recovery Ordinances - Could Reduce Up to 43% of Current Landfilled Waste

November 13, 2014 (Albany, CA) — Global Green has joined forces with the City of Albany, CA and members of its Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) to launch in-depth pilots in select buildings to collect valuable data, test innovative products, and support the broader rollout of food scrap recovery across the region (see a VIDEO about the pilot launch here). The system being piloted includes the use of water-resistant paper bags for compost recovery, which are anticipated to facilitate greater participation while also ensuring that composters in the region can process the waste easily into high-value soil products. Increasing the availability of compost for the region’s farms can also help them reduce irrigation needs, a crucial drought-fighting measure. These efforts are part of an overall organizational mission focused on advancing smart solutions to climate change.

“The Bay Area has been an incredible leader in many green urban practices, including food scrap recovery, which makes this community a perfect partner as we develop guidance and toolkits for cities and property owners,” said Lily Kelly, Senior Program Associate at Global Green USA and the project’s coordinator. “We are able to help East Bay families living in apartments divert their food scraps back into their local food system while getting useful data along the way that demonstrate reduced greenhouse gas emissions.”

When tenants were presented with the bin and bag kits, nearly all showed a strong desire to participate in the program. “It’s about time!” was a sentiment frequently expressed. Most multi-family buildings in the Bay Area, and across the country, have yet to implement food scrap recovery systems. Food scraps account for 43% of the landfilled waste from Alameda County’s multi-family residences, releasing emissions equivalent to over 50,000 metric tons of CO2 annually. If all this waste were to be composted, it would reduce carbon emissions equivalent to planting over 1.3 million trees every year.

“This really is the future of property management,” said Erik Eichner, the co-founder and owner of Eichner Properties, which owns and manages several multi-family buildings in Albany. “Helping our tenants divert their waste is becoming a normal part of running a multi-family building. We are very pleased that Global Green is supporting this rollout by working with our tenants to make sure they can divert their food scraps easily and successfully.”

“The City of Albany is rolling out mandatory food scrap collection service for all its multi-family and commercial properties, and we are very grateful that Global Green is here to help us implement successful programs,” said City of Albany’s Sustainability and Transportation Coordinator, Claire Griffing, “They have identified bags that work with our local composting needs, and will be gathering valuable data about our resident’s needs and preferences. We look forward to the results of the pilot, and hope they will be useful to other cities looking to carry out similar waste reduction programs in their communities.”

In addition to undertaking initial waste audits and much of the outreach to property owners and tenants, Global Green USA organized the initial donation of bins and bags to the buildings from CoRR members. The leak-resistant paper bags for collecting scraps in the kitchen were donated by Bag to Earth, and were designed to be compatible with the needs of the local compost facility. “We are thrilled to have been able to be a part of this pilot,” said George Colgan, President of Bag to Earth. “As a company we are committed to helping cities and their residents divert their food scraps easily and cleanly. Our compostable bags are designed to be strong and moisture-resistant, with the natural fiber liner made of cellulose, while still being 100% paper, which makes them a great fit for the composting processes used in this region.”

CoRR member ORBIS Corporation donated dozens of small kitchen countertop bins to the pilot households. “We recently launched the newest line of bins for use in home kitchens, and we are excited to get feedback from the Albany families that are part of Global Green’s pilot,” said John Sebranek, Environmental Marketing Manager at ORBIS. “The Kitchen Collector can fit many different sizes of bags, and it is designed to go on the counter to make it easy to dispose of food scraps while cooking.”

According to the EPA, 95% of food scraps are landfilled in the US each year, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to seven coal-fired power plants. Global Green is committed to helping pilot and deploy systems that will reduce these climate impacts. This pilot is the third of a series of food scrap recovery systems that Global Green will be helping deploy over the next year in major cities in California and New York. The organization will then compile the results of these pilots into a “Best Questions” guide to assist property managers and municipalities as food scrap recovery programs are rolled out across the country.

ABOUT GLOBAL GREEN USA:

Global Green USA is dedicated to helping the people, places, and the planet in need through catalytic projects, transformative policy, and cutting-edge research. Global Green USA's signature programs include greening affordable housing, schools, neighborhoods, and cities as well as rebuilding communities -- such as New Orleans and areas of New York and New Jersey -- that have suffered from the impacts of climate change, sea level rise, and environmental degradation. Global Green USA is the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International, which was founded by President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993 to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. For more information, visit globalgreen.org and follow us @globalgreen.

July 9, 2014 (Los Angeles, CA) — The pilot is the first residential building in Los Angeles with over 5 units to implement food scrap collection.

"The City of Los Angeles under Mayor Garcetti's leadership is committed to 70% waste reduction by 2020," said Mary Luevano, Interim Executive Director of Global Green USA. "Through our Coalition for Resource Recovery project, we have identified the tools we need to get simple, convenient food scrap reocvery established in homes and neighborhoods across LA. By diverting these nutrient-rich food scraps from landfill and back into our soils we are closing the loop on our local food system, and saving water and energy." Read More >

March 19, 2014 (Boston, MA) — Demonstrating that recyclable packaging can survive one of NAFCO's longest shipping routes, Global Green USA coordinated a pilot in which water-resistent packaging that is 100% recyclable with regular cardboard could be used to bring Chesapeake Bay seafood five hundred miles to a Boston location of a major grocery chain. Read More >

July 22, 2013 (New Orleans, LA) — New Orleans seafood is going green. Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) joined forces this past week with the New Orleans Fish House to test recyclable coated corrugated boxes as methods of transporting locally caught seafood. These innovative boxes, made by CoRR members Cascades Industrial Packaging and Interstate Container, are designed to be recyclable, unlike the paraffin-coated packaging typically used, and also withstand the icy seafood packing process. Read More >

New York, NY – Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that more than 100 restaurants will participate in the first-ever Food Waste Challenge, a new City program to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfills and the greenhouse gases that waste produces. The program will help meet the City’s PlaNYC goals to divert 75 percent of all solid waste from landfills by 2030 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions ... “We applaud the Mayor’s office for launching the Food Waste Challenge,” said Lily Kelly, Interim Director of Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery. “When more businesses recover their food waste it benefits all New Yorkers by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging investment in local processing infrastructure. We are delighted to be working with the Mayor's office to support this program.” Read More >

Santa Monica, CA – Global Green USA released a video today detailing the promising results of their 2012 pilots to test recyclable produce boxes that are designed to withstand wet cooling processes. For the pilots, Global Green USA teamed up with members of their Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) to test alternatives to paraffin-coated produce boxes, which cannot be recycled and are a contaminant within bales of uncoated cardboard. Boxes were tested with a variety of wet cooling processes in California and New Jersey and the results show that many box products with recyclable coatings are robust enough to withstand vacuum cooling, hydro-vac, and some hydro-cooling processes. Read More >

April 19, 2012 – Santa Cruz, CA – Recyclable produce box trials commenced in honor of Earth Day at New Leaf Community Market’s flagship store in Santa Cruz, California. The event took place in the heart of a major farming region for leafy greens, which are commonly packed in unrecyclable boxes. The produce was provided by local farm Lakeside Organic Gardens,and the latest in commercially available Fibre Box Association certified recyclable boxes were supplied by members of Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR), Green Bay Packaging and Interstate Container.Read More >

Global Green USA and its Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR) initiative congratulated Allen Harim Foods and Interstate Container today for their pioneering efforts to transform poultry packaging and set an example for all food packaging to be more environmentally responsible. Interstate Container, a founding CoRR member, recently transitioned Allen Harim Foods’ non-recyclable coated corrugated packaging to FBA-certified recyclable coated boxes. If these boxes are recycled, the move will eliminate 11,000 tons of carbon emissions each year by preventing methane-generating paper fiber from entering the landfills, and bringing it back onto the market as valuable commodities. Read More >

Every year, 4.1 million tons of paper, prepared food packaging is landfilled in the United States. The collection and recycling of this material would decrease greenhouse gas emissions by ~15 million metric tons of CO2, the equivalent to removing 3 million passenger vehicles from the road. The 150-store pilot will build upon the findings of previous pilot programs conducted in partnership with Starbucks Coffee Company, Pret a Manger and other members of its Coalition for Resource Recovery. Read more >

Global Green USA, Mountaire Farms, and Interstate Container announced completion of the conversion of the largest poultry plant in the US to recyclable, wax-alternative boxes, thereby reducing costs and environmental impact, and assisting its customers in cost-effectively meeting their environmental goals. At the International Poultry Expo, Global Green USA applauded Mountaire Farms and Interstate Container for their pioneering roles in reducing the environmental impact of wholesale transfer packaging as this innovation has the potential to influence the design of transfer packaging for all types of poultry, meat, produce and seafood delivered to grocers and restaurants throughout the world. Global Green also called on the food packaging industry to convert to this newly achievable green standard. . Read more >

Global USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery announced a key milestone today in its goal of achieving 100% recyclable wholesale packaging through Hunt’s Point Distribution Center, the largest food distribution center in the world. Mountaire, the sixth largest poultry company, and Interstate Container, in partnership with Global Green, commenced the conversion of Mountaire’s New York City business and its Lumberbridge, NC facility - the largest poultry processing plant in the U.S. - to FBA-certified recyclable and compostable boxes supplied by Interstate Container. Read more >

Global Green USA’s Coalition for Resource Recovery today announced the launch of its recycling program at seven Starbucks stores in Manhattan. The pilot will test the collection and recycling of coffee cups when combined with old corrugated cardboard (OCC), the most extensively recycled material in the United States. The objective of this program is to develop a cost effective mechanism to close the loop on paper packaging, reducing greenhouse gases and assisting municipalities in reaching their solid waste diversion goals. Read more >

Western Michigan University’s Coating and Recycling Pilot Plant performed initial bench top research on two brands of hot cups mimicking the Fibre Box Association’s protocol for treated corrugated. One brand passed repulpability standards while the other failed. Through WMU’s experience, it appears that cups could be designed for repulpability that could be integrated within corrugated cardboard or mixed waste paper streams. Read more >

Global Green USA announced today its plan to substitute all non-recyclable transfer packaging distributed from Hunt’s Point Distribution Center, the largest food distribution center in the world, with recyclable packaging. If successful, the program would divert 30,000 tons/yr of corrugated from the landfill and would reduce greenhouse gases by 103,000mtCO2e/yr, equivalent to taking 19,000 cars off the road, and would set the standard for greening transfer packaging throughout the world. Read more >

Global Green USA recently announced its innovative Coalition for Resource Recovery to dramatically reduce the waste stream and associated greenhouse gas emissions from transporting and disposing of this food packaging waste in New York City. Twenty-seven leading corporations and organizations joined together at the new organization’s kick-off meeting. Read more >